The Big Apple of the East: Ho Chi Minh City’s $430 Million Monthly Bill

Disbursing 10,000 billion VND/month

Speaking at a meeting on the city’s socio-economic situation in July and the first seven months of the year, on August 1, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai stated that this year, the city has allocated a detailed public investment plan with a capital of 79,263 billion VND. However, according to the State Treasury of Ho Chi Minh City, as of July 26, the city has only disbursed more than 11,800 billion VND, reaching 15% of the allocated capital.

According to Mr. Mai, in the past, the city has organized numerous meetings and issued many documents, and this task is also being monitored daily with weekly directives.

He also emphasized that effective governance requires addressing specific projects and obstacles and providing concrete solutions with a determination to make progress within the year, rather than making general statements.

The head of the city’s government further stated that in the remaining six months, the city must disburse 10,000 billion VND per month. Additionally, even though the peak period for compensation, site clearance, and new projects is in the fourth quarter, close monitoring is necessary to achieve the initial plan’s 95% disbursement rate.

“I request that investors focus on accelerating construction progress, completing paperwork for disbursement, and committing to monthly disbursement targets,” Mr. Mai noted, requesting that obstacles in public procurement be addressed this week or the next, and that the goal of completing the year’s public procurement plan in the third quarter be maintained.

A series of major events in the second half of the year

Mr. Phan Van Mai instructed departments, branches, and localities to focus on implementing tasks from 50 projects and works to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South, as well as key projects. This includes focusing on the completion and close monitoring of the Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai Expressway project and the Can Gio International Transit Port project.

“These two dossiers are currently on the table of the Government’s Standing Committee, and we need to continue monitoring to obtain investment approval this August,” Mr. Mai stated.

Additionally, the next step is to finalize and submit dossiers for the following proposals: Ring Road 4, the urban railway project, and the International Financial Center project. Mr. Mai emphasized that these three proposals need to be expedited to report to the Government, so the Government can report to the Politburo and submit them to the National Assembly at the year-end session.

According to Chairman Phan Van Mai, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s announcement, the city will report the International Financial Center proposal to the Politburo on October 11. Therefore, if the city registers and reports on time, it will still meet the conditions for submission to the National Assembly.

The head of the city’s government also emphasized the need to urgently complete the proposal for administrative unit arrangement. He stated that although the deadline for submission was July 31, it must be finalized in August, and a steering committee meeting should be held next week to deploy the proposal.

The Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee also highlighted several tasks and events that require immediate preparation this month, particularly the working session with the Prime Minister.